Golf club



July 30, 1957 o. A. KOEHLER GOLF CLUB Filed April 26, 1956 rllrl'liliilll I,'I'Ililiilllvlll'allillllilal'lllllirl INVENTOR OTTO A. KOEHLER ATTORNEY United rates Patent GOLF CLUB Otto A. Koehler, San Antonio, Tex.

Application April 26, 1956, Serial No. 580,798

7 Claims. (Cl. 27381.3)

This invention relates to a golf club, and it particularly relates to a golf club which is capable of aiding the motion of a struck ball to follow a straight path.

Heretofore, golf clubs, especially the so-called putters required great skill in their handling and manipulation in order to strike the ball at exactly the proper angle to cause it to follow a straight path to the hole. Any slightest deviation from this angle, caused by faulty wrist-motion or the like, resulted in the ball travelling in an arc, slant or other undesired direction. Since the accuracy of stroke must be at its greatest when putting due to the small diameter of the hole and the distances which must he travelled to it by the ball, many strokes are wasted at this time.

It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a golf club of the putter type which increase the accuracy of the average player when on the putting green.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a golf club of the putter type which is simple in construction and easy to handle.

Other objects of the present invention are to provide an improved golf club, of the character described, that is easily and economically produced, which is sturdy in construction, and which is highly efficient in operation.

With the above and related objects in view, this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts, as will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a side view of a golf club embodying the present invention, the view being partly in section and partly in elevation.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, detailed, cross-sectional view of a portion of the golf club of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the club of Fig. 1, showing it in various positions during a stroke when held by a player.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, detailed, cross-sectional view of a modified form of this invention.

Referring now in greater detail to the drawing wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts, there is shown a lower club portion comprising an ordinary type shaft 12 and head 14. At least the upper portion of shaft 12 is tubular and extends into a handle 16. The shaft 12 is generally constructed of steel and the handle 16 is constructed of rubber, leather or similar flexible material.

The upper end of the shaft 12 terminates considerably below the upper end of the handle, as indicated at 18. Spaced above this upper end 18, within the tubular handle 16, is a sleeve 20, also preferably constructed of steel. This sleeve terminates flush with the upper end of the handle.

Extending between the shaft 12 and the sleeve 20, within the handle 16, is a flat steel spring 22. The lower end of the spring extends into shaft 12 and is connected thereto by rivets 24, while the upper end of the spring extends into the sleeve 20 and is connected thereto by rivets 26.

Telescoping down into the top of the handle 16 is a lock pin 28 having a knob 30 on the top end thereof and having the lower end divided into four sections by two perpendicular, intersecting slots 32 and 34, as best seen in Fig. 3.

The lock pin 28 is longitudinally slidable within the handle from an unlocked position, shown in full line in Fig. 1, to the locked position, shown in dotted outline in Fig. l and in full line in Fig. 2. The slot 32 permits the pin to slip over the rivets and the slot 34 encloses the spring 22 as the lock pin moves downwardly.

When in its upper unlocked position, the pin frees the spring 22 and permits the spring to form a flexible connection between the shaft 12 and the sleeve 20 so that the handle will be capable of being bent at this juncture, as shown in Fig. 4. When the lock pin is slid down over the spring 22 and is received within the hollow bore of shaft 12, the connection between the shaft 12 and sleeve 20 is formed by the pin and this connection is, therefore, rigid. In this position, the club is of the ordinary type and is used in the ordinary manner.

When the lock pin is raised and the handle connection is flexible, the players left hand holds the top of the handle tight and steady so that it is used as the focal point. The right hand then is used to swing the shaft on the pivot, thereby insuring a straight path for the ball when it is struck by the club.

In Fig. 5, there is shown a different form of this invention in which the upper end of the club handle 46 is hingedly pivoted to the upper end 43 of the shaft 42.

" In this form, one hinge strap 64 is rigidly riveted at 56 within the upper end of the handle 46 while the other strap hinge 66 is similarly riveted at 54 within the upper end 48 of club shaft 42, which of course forms the lower end of the handle 46, which is of rubber, leather or similar flexible material. The lower end of upper strap hinge 64 is hingedly pivoted at 62 to the upper end of the lower strap hinge 66. A lock pin 58, substantially similar to the lock pin 28, has a handle knob 60 and is divided into four sections by two perpendicular, intersecting slots, one of which permits the pin 58 to pass on both sides of the hinge straps 64 and 66, and the other of which permits it to pass by the rivets 56 and 54.

The lock pin 58 operates in the identical manner as the lock pin 28 of the first form of this invention. When fully inserted, the lock pin prevents flexing or bending of the handle, for it then extends down into the upper end 48 of the club shaft 42, making the handle rigid, and causing the club to be operable in only a conventional manner. When it is retracted sufficiently to clear the upper end 48 of the club shaft 42, this form of the invention will permit the shaft 42 to flex relative to the handle 46 in the identical manner as shown in the other form in Fig. 4.

Thus, the first form of the invention, in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, shows a club having a handle that is flexible as a result of a spring when the locking pin is in unlocked position, and the second form, in Fig. 5, shows a club having a handle that is flexible as a result of a pivoted hinge when the locking pin is in unlocked position.

Although this invention has been described in considerable detail, such description is intended as being illustrative rather than limiting, since the invention may be variously embodied, and the scope of the invention is to be determined as claimed.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, what is claimed is:

l. A golf club comprising a shaft, 2. club head at one 3 7 end of said shaft, a tubular portion at the opposite end of said shaft, said tubular portion extending into a hollow flexible handle, a rigid sleeve in said handle in longitudinally-spaced relation to said shaft, means comprising afie'xible member connecting said shaftito; said sleeve within said handle and permittingsaid handle ,to bend rin o'nly asingle plane atright angles toithe plane of the face of the club head, and a longitudinally, moVF. able, locking member in said handle and a knob, at. one end of said locking member outside siaid'h'andl'e, said lockingjmember being movable from a positionentir'ely within said sleeve to a position surr'ounding'said flexible member and telescopically engaging said shaft 7 2. The golf club of claim 1 wherein said, flexible member is a flat leaf spring connected atone rend Within. said sleeve by fastening means and connected at its other end within said shaft by other fastening means, and said locking member comprising apin which is split into four. segments by two perpendicularlyintersecting slots, onev of said slots being arranged to embrace said spring and the other of said slots being arranged to embrace said fastening means.

3. The golfclub of claim 1 wherein said shaft and said sleeve are constructed of steel and said handle is resilient. V

' 4. The golf club of claim 1 wherein said flexible memher is a pair of pivotally connected hinge straps having one hinge'strap connected within said sleeve by fastening means and having the other hinge strap connected within said shaft by other fastening means, and said locking member comprising a pin which is split into four segments by two perpendicularly intersecting slots, one of said slots being arranged to embrace said hinge straps and the other of said slots being arranged to embrace c said fastening means. a

5. A golf putter club comprising a rigid shaft, a club handle permitting said handle to bend in only a single plane at right angles to the plane of the face of the club head and rigid means in said handle adjustable from a position uncovering said joint to a position spanning said joint to rigidly connect said shaft to said insert.

6. The golf club of claim 5 wherein said means is a hinge connectingsaid shaft'to said insert. 7

7. The golf club of claim 5 wherein said rigid means comprises a telescopic member'in telescopic connection within said insert and movable into and out of telescopic connection within said shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent V UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,616,377

Knight 6. Feb. '1', 1927 

